Mr. Obiajulu Uja, the air passenger arrested for opposing the inauguration of Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s president-elect, aboard an Ibom flight from Abuja to Lagos, has been remanded in prison custody, shortly after his arraignment before the Zuba Magistrates’ Court.
Uja was on Friday evening carried off the airplane after he started a lone protest, demanding that the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, must never be sworn in as president on May 29.
Airport security officers evacuated him after disrupting the Ibomair flight for close to an hour.
A copy of the charge sheet showed that Obiajulu Uja was charged with “public nuisance, resistance to a lawful arrest, threatening violence and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace contrary to sections 396, 267,188,172 and 144 of the Penal Code Law.”
His lawyer Ejike Ugwu, told the journalists on Monday that he was arraigned at the Zuba Magistrates’ Court “after they deceived us because yesterday he was taken to Muhammadu Buhari Police Hospital, Area 11 Abuja.”
He confirmed that Obiajulu, who is said to be mentally challenged, was admitted to the Muhammadu Buhari Police Hospital, adding that the hospital did not have a psychiatrist doctor and psychologist that to examine him.
“While we were there, it was around 3 pm they told us that they wanted to arraign him in Zuba Magistrates’ Court.
“We reminded the court that the same police invited the doctor to examine him, and the same police instead of waiting for the doctors to examine him hurriedly charged him to court.
“Even with the test we did, we spent almost N40,000 at the Police clinic, all the tests they conducted we abandoned all of them; they have not prescribed any medicine.
“The way the police are handling it is as if they have an interest in the matter because you took somebody to a police clinic, you are coming to court to tell the court you want the person to be remanded in prison because you want to continue the investigation.
“Until now we do not know the result of the test that was conducted in the hospital because they hurriedly took him away from the hospital,” the lawyer said,
He noted that Mr Uja’s bail application will begin on Thursday.